VoIP - TDM FACE - OFF

l There is a clear business case for deployment of VoIP. It meets the business and technical requirements of service providers. However, like any other technology, it will see early adapters and followers amongst service providers.

l VoIP technology is fairly mature for deployments in the carrier space. In India, it is being introduced now. In other parts of the world it is widely deployed and share of VoIP over TDM infrastructure is consistently growing.

l TDM switches can provide over 250 applications. But how many do we actually use? Only five to six. VoIP equipment can do almost everything included in a centrex, apart from a host of converged applications.

Gerard Chevali, director (voice networks division, India), Alcatel Network Systems

l Today everybody asks for softswitch. New generation network (NGN) is the fashion. But Alcatel does not dream! We are taking a pragmatic approach, working towards a fully reliable Class-5 NGN switch that can deliver toll-quality voice.

l A priority for IP solution development does not mean we stop the developments on TDM which has the largest installed base in the world for voice applications. TDM technology delivers quality, is cheap and still the right solution in most cases.

l For a service provider, important issues before adopting a VoIP network are—technological, economic and most importantly user acceptability.